Animals

November 14, 2013

Chloe is a southern sea otter that has been living behind the scenes at the Aquarium of the Pacific for the past few months and is now ready to go on exhibit. She will make her official debut in the sea otter exhibit at the Aquarium on Thursday, November 21, when the Aquarium opens at 9:00 a.m. that morning.

Chloe was found stranded on Pismo Beach on December 1, 2012, at just a few weeks old. She was rescued by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Research and Conservation program and housed there for seven months. She moved to her new home at the Aquarium of the Pacific in June 2013 after being deemed non-releasable to the wild.

According to the Aquarium of the Pacific’s mammal biologists, Chloe is far from a picky eater. “She enjoys all the food the sea otters are fed here at the Aquarium, including restaurant-quality clams, shrimp, and squid,” said Dudley Wigdahl, Aquarium of the Pacific curator. Chloe is now eating roughly seven pounds of food a day. Chloe weighed 28 pounds when she first arrived at the Aquarium and now weighs 34 pounds.

Long Beach resident and Aquarium donor Marla Graham was the winner of an opportunity to name the sea otter pup and selected the name Chloe. Since Chloe’s arrival at the Aquarium, she has been undergoing basic training to aid biologists in providing her daily care and for enrichment. Chloe has learned stationing—learning how to sit calmly in front of her trainer. She is also working with a target pole, learning to target a shape, and learning to take vitamins in liquid form.

Aquarium visitors can see Chloe and the other sea otters in the Northern Pacific gallery.